Drip pan and related construction



g 6, 1940' M. D. MMMASTER 2.210.7

' DRIP PAN AND RELATED CQNSTRUCTION Filed larch 23, 1939 2 Sheets-Sheet1 \Q Q Q INYENTOR MALCOLM 0. MACMASTER.

ATTORNEY Aug. 6, 1940.

M. D. Mach/{ASTER DRIP PAN AND RELATED CONSTRUCTION Filed March 23, 19592 Sheets-Sheet 2 Fig.4.

INVENTOR MALCOLMQMACMASTER. BY Mfg- M ATTORNEY Patemed 6,

UNITED" STATES om PAN nam'rso cons'rnuc'rron Malcolm D. Maellaater,Yardley, mama;- to O. V. Hill &' Company, Inc., a corporation of NewJersey Application Mat 23, 1939, Serial No. 203,542

6 Claims. (01. 62-10:)

beneath the coils and fins to receive drops of moisture and any sliversor particles of ice that may fall from the coils and fins during the"off cycle of operation or when the coils 15 are being defrosted. Inorder to conserve space the drip pans are usually located as close tothe coils as possible and are inclined at only a slight angle to causewater to flow toward the lower end thereof. This angle is usually soslight that I water does not run off rapidly but trickles along slowlytoward the lower end of the pan allowing the liquid ample time to giveoff heat to the drip pan. Furthermore the upper surface of the pan isoften so close to the cooling coils that I the circulation of airdownward away from the coils is impeded and the air and drip pan arecooled to a temperature approaching that of the coils themselves. Forthis reason slivers or pieces of ice dripping onto the pan during the Noff-cycle" do not melt readily and water collecting in the pan orflowing slowly along the same freezes during the on cycle building up anobstruction which may cause the pan to overflow when the next "off cycletakes place. This 86 is particularly true when the coils are maintainedat a relatively low temperature.

Moreover, when the drip pans are formed of metal they not only tend toconduct heat rapidly away from the liquid causing it to freeze rapidly40 but also tend to sweat on their lower surface especially when locatednear a door or otherwise positioned to cause moisture to condensethereon from warm humid air entering the refrigerated space. In order toovercome this dimculty double drip pafis are frequently employed orother complicated or expensive constructions used to prevent theformation of drops of moisture on the lower surface of the drip pans orto receive such drops when formed.

In accordance with my invention difficulties and objections toconstructions of the prior art are overcome and means provided whichprevent the freezing of liquids in the drip pan or 55 objectionablesweating of the lower surface thereof and also serve tovinsurerelatively free circulation of airwithin the case. r

While constructions embodying my invention may take any of various'formsI prefer to form the drip pan'of material having relatively low 5 heatconductivity and to support the drip, pans for adjustment toward andaway from the cooling coils. In this way the pans may be moved close tothe coils when they are operated at relatively high temperatures andspaced from the coils when they are operated at low temperatures. Theangle at which the drip pans are inclined also may be adjusted asrequired and the position of the pans regulated to prevent freezing ofliquids on the drip pans and 1 insure melting of pieces or slivers ofice falling thereon. I also prefer to employ drip plans of a novel typeand construction which are simple and durable in construction and arefree from sweating under all conditions encounteredvin ordinarypractice.

One of the objects of my invention is to provide a novel type of drippan for use with cooling coils in a refrigerated case or the like, whichpans serve to prevent liquids from dripping onto objects beneath thesame.

Another object of my invention is to provide a drip pan which will notsweat and yet is simple and durable in construction and economical toproduce.

A further object of my invention is to provide novel means forsupporting a drip pan and related elements for use with a cooling coilto insure the removal of liquids from the region adjacent the coolingcoils and promote the circulation of air within the refrigerated space.

These and other objects and features of my invention will appear fromthe following description thereof in which reference is made to thefigures of the accompanying drawings wherein a typical embodiment of myinvention is illustrated.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a perspective of a typical form of drip pan and supportingimeans therefor together with related elements of a refrigerated displaycase-embodying my invention.

Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view of the construction illustrated inFig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a perspective of the hanger illustrated in Fig. 1, and

Fig. 4 is a vertical sectional view of an alternative constructionembodying my invention. 7

In that form of my invention illustrated in Figs. 1', 2 and 3 arefrigerated display case having a top 2 and rear doors 4 is providedwith cooling coils 8 having fins 8 thereon. The coils and fins aresupported by means of bolts l0 which extend downward from the top of thecase between the coils and fins and serve to draw the finsupward againstan insulating plate II.

A front baille member i4 is secured to a hanger l6 anda rear bafliemember 18 is similarly secured to the opposite end of hanger It. Thehanger i8 is held in place by means of nuts 20 threaded on to the end ofthe bolts l0 and beneath the hanger so as to retain the cooling coils.the ilns and the baiile members in place.

The form and arrangement of the baiiie members may be of any suitabletype but preferably are similar to those described and claimed in mycopending application, now Patent No. 2,201,268, dated May 21, 1940. Thedoors 4 and related elements also may be of any suitable or preferredconstruction but as illustrated are of the type described and claimed inthe patent to Cyrus F. Hoil'man, No. 2,198,435, dated April 23, 1940.

Beneath the cooling coils 6 and fins 8 are located drip pans 22 and 24which are formed of material having low relative heat conductivity andpreferably are formed of a compressed fibrous composition having a heatconductivity in the neighborhood of 0.6 B. t. u.s or lower as measuredin standard practice for determining heat conductivity. A typicalmaterial of this character is that manufactured and sold under thetrade-mark Agasote and when specially formed and treated for use inrefrigerator drip pans the material is sold under the name Permasote.This material is of a cellulosic nature and is subjected to pressureduring manufacture and preferably is waterproofed and shaped prior touse. The drip pans are in the form of concave or dished strips havinglongitudinal edges projecting beyond the lower edges of the fins 8 so asto receive liquid or particles of ice falling from the fins during theoff cycle of operation. The material of which the drip pans are formedis molded or otherwise shaped to provide the desired cross section andis reinforced along its longitudinal edges by means of metal stripsindicated at 26.

The drip pans are supported by brackets shown in Fig. 3 each of which isformed with a central boss 28 and oppositely-extending arms 30 havingdownward turned hook shaped extremity 32 for receiving the reinforcingstrips 26 extending along the longitudinal edges of drip pans. Theadjacent edges of the drip pans bear against the surfaces 34 of thebracket and are held in place by means of'a strap 36 secured to a lug 38on the central boss 28 by means of screw 40.

The bracket by which the drip pans are carried is vertically adjustableby means of a threadedbolt 42 which passes through central boss 44 onthe hanger IS. The head 46 of the bolt is shaped or formed with a slotso that it may be readily rotated to raise or lower the drip pans andadjust them with respect to the hanger and the cooling coils and fins.In this way the distance between the cooling coils and the drip pans maybe adjusted either for the purpose of altering the inclination of thedrip pans or improving the circulation of air about the cooling coilsand fins and over the surface of the drip pans. Preferably a cotter pin48 is inserted through an opening in the bolt 42 directly above the boss28 of the bracket so as to prevent the bracket from being displaced withrespect to the blolt during shipment or when the construction is use.

When the construction is used in a refrigerated display case wherein therear edge of the drip pan 24 is located near the doors 4 or is otherwisepositioned so that moist warm air comes into contact therewithfrequently, the hook shape extremity 32 of the arm 30 of the bracket isprovided with a cover 50 formed of rubber or other material of low heatconductivity so that moisture will not be deposited on the extremity ofthe hanger and fall downward therefrom onto articles within the case.The portions of the hanger I6 located over the drip pans are also formedwith depressions 50 which serve to cause moisture depositing on thehanger to flow downward toward the depressions so as to fall into thedrip pans.

In most instances when using drip pans formed of material of low heatconductivity no other drip pans than those shown in Fig. l are required.However in some instances and particularly when the coils are operatedat very low temperatures and the drip pans frequently exposed to moistair supplemental drip pans may be used.

In that form of my invention illustrated in Fig. 4 I have shown aconstruction similar to that of Figs. 1 to 3 except that upper metallicdrip pans 52 are employed and are spaced from drip pans 54 formed ofmaterial of low heat conductivity. The arms 56 of the brackets aredisplaced centrally so as to extend beneath the upper drip pan 52 andabove the lower drip pan 58. The outer extremities 58 of the bracketsused in this construction are provided with inwardly projecting hooks 60which engage the outer edges of the drip pan 52 whereas the inner oradjacent edges of the drip pans are held in place by means of a strap 62secured to a lug I4 on the central position 66 of the bracket.

When using either form of my invention the inclination of the drip panscan be adjusted readily to insure flow of any liquid condensing thereonlengthwise of the case at a rate which will serve to prevent freezing ofthe liquid during the on cycle of operation. However when using amaterial of low heat conductivity in forming the drip pans there is avery little tendency for the liquid to give up its heat to the drip panso that the temperature of the liquid is not greatly reduced by contacttherewith and ice does not form readily on the surface of the drip paneven though the water does not flow rapidly over the surface thereof.

While I have illustrated and described certain preferred forms of myinvention as applied to refrigerated display cases it will be evidentthat the invention may be embodied in other types and styles of displaycases and that numerous changes and modifications may be made in theform and arrangement of the elements of the combination. In view thereofit should be understood that the forms of my invention shown in thedrawings and herein particularly described are intended to beillustrative of my invention and are not intended to limit the scopethereof.

I claim:

1. In a refrigerated case having cooling coils the combination of drippans located beneath the cooling coils and formed of compressed fibrousmaterial of low heat conductivity, reinforcing strips extendinglongitudinally along the marginal edges of the drip pans, hangers forholding the cooling coils in place and means. carried by .the hangersand engaging said reinforcing strips for securing the drip pans inplace.

2. In a refrigerated case having cooling coils the combination of drippans located beneath the cooling coils and formed of compressed fibrousmaterial of low heat conductivity, reinforcing strips extending alongthe marginal edges of the drip pans, hangers for holding the coolingcoils in place, brackets engaging the reinforcing strips on the drippans to support the drip pans and means extending between the hangersand drip pans for securing the drip pans in place.

3. In a refrigerated case having cooling coils the combination of drippans located beneath the cooling coils and formed of compressed fiberousmaterial of low heat conductivity, reinforcing strips extending alongthe marginal edges of the drip pans, hangers for holding the coolingcoils in place, brackets engaging the reinforcing strips on the drippans to support the drip pans and bolts passing through the bracketsand. having threaded engagement with the hangers for adjusting theposition of the drip pans and brackets with respect to the coolingcoils.

4 A drip pan for use beneath a cooling coil in a refrigerated casecomprising a molded concave strip of compressed fibrous material havinglow heat conductivity and provided with reinforcing means extendinglongitudinally thereof.

5. A drip pan for use beneath a cooling coil in a refrigerated casecomprising a molded concave strip of compressed fibrous material havinglow heat conductivity and provided with reinforcing means extendingalong the marginal edges thereof to prevent warping or sagging of thedrip pan.

6. In a refrigerated case having cooling coils I therein located nearthe top of the case and doors providing access to the case, thecombination of drip pans located beneath the cooling coils and formed ofcompressed fibrous material, a metallic reinforcing strip extendinglengthwise of the drip pan along that edge thereof adjacent said doorsand a cover for the reinforcing strip formed of material of low heatconductivity.

MALCOLM D. MACMASTER.

